Dictionary

1. (

• break_down ,
• crush ,

) make ineffective; "Martin Luther King tried to break down racial discrimination" ;

2. (

• analyze ,
• analyse ,
• break_down ,
• dissect ,
• take_apart

) make a mathematical, chemical, or grammatical analysis of; break down into components or essential features; "analyze a specimen"; "analyze a sentence"; "analyze a chemical compound" ;

3. (

• break_down ,
• lose_it ,
• snap

) lose control of one's emotions; "When she heard that she had not passed the exam, she lost it completely"; "When her baby died, she snapped" ;

4. (

• fail ,
• go_bad ,
• give_way ,
• die ,
• give_out ,
• conk_out ,
• go ,
• break ,
• break_down

) stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident" ;

5. (

• crumble ,
• crumple ,
• tumble ,
• break_down ,
• collapse ,

) fall apart; "the building crumbled after the explosion"; "Negotiations broke down" ;

6. (

• break_down ,

) cause to fall or collapse ;

7. (

• decompose ,
• break_up ,
• break_down ,

) separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts ;

8. (

• break_down ,
• collapse

) collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack ;